NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Chapter 10 - Cooperation
At the beachside in front of a cave, a Pikachu with an ugly smile and a stoic Hisuian Zorua were facing each other.
"Pikachu, I remember I still haven't told you my dream, right?"
"Eh, uh, yeah. You told me earlier you're a Pokemon Trainer. Isn't that your dream?"
"NO!!"
Pikachu leaned back in surprise at Dante's sudden outburst.
"I don't want to be just a Pokemon Trainer. I want to be the BEST POKEMON TRAINER! And being a Trainer is just the beginning of my dream! Isn't that the same for you?"
"Eh! Uh-"
"We've already entered and came back from a Mystery Dungeon. You're already a Mystery Dungeon Explorer! What do you mean give up on your dream? You've already achieved it!"
"EHH! Y-you're right. I'm an Explorer now…"
"Then why do you look so unwilling?"
At some unknown point, tears were already falling from Pikachu's eyes once again. Coupled with his face that was still forcing a smile, it made for a rather ugly picture.
"I don't think you want to become just an Explorer. You're the same as me, it's just the beginning of your dream. What do you plan to do after you've become one?"
Dante's tone turned into a soothing voice, as if a parent comforting a crying child who was bullied at school.
"H-hic, I-I want to find and explore new Dungeons. Reach places that no one's ever stepped upon. I-I want to help other Pokemons from the dungeon. and I WANT TO FIND THE ORIGIN OF MY TREASURE!"
"See? You still have so many things you want to do. Don't give it up just because of one failure."
"But I'm too weak! I nearly got both of us killed in the dungeon…"
"Heh, why don't both of us form a partnership to achieve our dreams? I, a Pokemon Trainer, will help you get stronger and accompany you in Dungeon explorations. And you will help me as my Pokemon in Trainer battles."
Although Dante still has no clue regarding how he can take other Pokemon from this world to the human world and vice-versa, he is definitely sure that his system allows it.
As for why he chose Pikachu as his starter Pokemon? Not to mention that both of them will partner up in the future as an Exploration team, Pikachu itself is a very strong Pokemon.
As the main mascot of the Pokemon game, Pikachu was given buffs in the form of exclusive moves and items. Pikachu can learn Volt Tackle, an Electric type physical attack with 120 base power. Its drawback of having a recoil can be compensated by Pikachu learning Draining Kiss.
In addition, Pikachu's exclusive item, the Light Ball, doubles Pikachu's Physical Attack and Special Attack. This item was made to compensate for Pikachu's low attack and special attack.
However, with the help of Gummies in the PMD world, Pikachu's attack and special attack can reach a value higher than even other Pokemon's that hyper specialize in both stats.
If the Light Ball can double Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack in that state, then almost no Pokemon would be able to withstand even a single move from Pikachu.
Pikachu wiped the tears from his eyes, and his eyes that looked at Dante revealed a hint of hope and expectation.
"Y-yeah, of course I agree! We're gonna become the best Exploration Team and Pokemon Trainer!"
"Haha, a Pokemon trainer is only one, hmm you know what? Yeah! Let's become the best Exploration Team and Pokemon Trainer!"
Both of them cheered, their agreement on this beach marking the beginning of their legendary journey.
—
"So, we'll go back again?"
Pikachu and Dante were now standing in front of the Beach Cave once again, intending to have another go.
At this time, the sun had already set and stars were twinkling on the horizon. The time from when they first explored the Dungeon up to now was already several hours.
"Yeah, we'll go back again, but only to the first room. We'll just battle the Pokemons we found there and then continue tomorrow. I want to experiment with the new ability I mastered."
"Oh, the ability to phase through, right? Wait, what about my treasure!?"
"Chillll, do you really think the both of us can go against Zubat and Koffing when we can't even take on the normal dungeon Pokemons? We'll remember both of them, and take back the treasure after we've become strong enough."
Dante doesn't know whether he and Pikachu can gain enough strength to defeat both of those guys just by getting through this newbie dungeon. If the worst case scenario comes true and they still aren't able to beat them, then they can take back the stone later when they've become much stronger.
After making up their mind, both Dante and Pikachu proceeded to enter the dungeon. Entering the first room of the dungeon, no other Pokemon were present this time.
Dante and Pikachu found 230 Pokecurrency, or Poke for short, lying in one of the corner of the room. As its name suggests, it is the currency for this Pokemon world. In addition, they also found a Silver Gummi which was given to Pikachu.
"Should we go deeper into the dungeon?"
"Nah, this is just right. There's only one passageway, so we can avoid the situation of them ganging up on us. We'll wait for them to come here, and then run away if we can't beat them."
Dante and Pikachu didn't have to wait for long. A Skitty came from the hallway, and immediately turned aggressive after seeing Dante and Pikachu.
"Hold on Pikachu, let me test myself against her first."
Dante stopped Pikachu from attacking, and stepped forward himself. At the same time, he also spread the energy and his body began to slowly float from the ground.
Skitty rushed forward and used Tackle.
Skitty passed through Dante's body.
Dante turned around and used Scratch.
Dante felt the energy in his body becoming messy.
Dante fell from the air, but his body automatically moved to Scratch Skitty. Skitty cried out in pain, and Tackled Dante in retaliation. Dante spread the energy in his whole body just in the nick of time, and Skitty passed through him.
'Thanks Arceus I practiced spreading the energy in my body countless times earlier. So can I not use moves when I am in this form? Or is it just Normal type moves?'
In order to verify his guess, Dante used Astonish from the menu and he attacked Skitty by letting out a yelp. Dante noticed this time that a trace of energy was released from his mouth when his body did that.
His body was also floating from the ground still, proving that he can still use Ghost type moves in this form.
Dante's Astonish didn't have any effect on Skitty, so he waited for when Skitty was vulnerable before using Scratch again. Skitty was hit on the head and her head twisted to the side so fast it almost broke. Her body trembled for a moment before she fainted.